tellah

To the great surprise of no one.

Remember this is the man who, during the Covid pandemic, was handed a softball question from a reporter “What do you say to Americans who are scared… millions who are scared right now?” Basically set him up to provide a reassuring, caring response, to sound presidential for once in his life.

Except his response was: “I say that you’re a terrible reporter,” Trump snapped aggressively. “That’s what I say. I think that’s a very nasty question. You’re doing sensationalism.”

He’s a hateful, divisive, incompetent person who consistently reminds us how terrible humans being can be.

It’s not wise to underestimate the enemy. We need to stop this them as soon as possible. Time only helps them. Even with their ratshit military they can still hurt a lot of innocent people.

NATO havent even turned up yet

Maybe that’s that problem.

Even he isn't dumb enough to intentionally fire a bullet at a NATO member, as it would not go well in his favor.

Yet. That’s the problem with his behaviour and the reason why we need to see this as a lead up. He’s pushing boundaries, testing our resolve, finding cracks and stoking divisions. He’s not going to attack a NATO member yet, but sooner or later he will find the right time, the right member, to strike and expose our weakness.

The one thing I kinda thought the boomers who predominantly run shit would be good at was to remember what level of economic commitment is required to win a real, serious military conflict (and Afghanistan and Iraq don’t count - they were fully asymmetric conflicts). But it seems they can’t even do that.

Well Afghanistan and Iraq are really the only two wars which the boomers can be said to have “fought” in the sense of being the largest voting bloc, well represented in the administration - basically running things.

They were post-WW2 children so they weren’t really running things during Korea and Vietnam, or the Cold War generally. The two conflicts you mentioned are just about the two best examples of “Boomers’ Wars” you can find, so to say “they don’t count” is funny because it should at least illustrate why the current situation is not so surprising. They don’t know how to fight a war - they were born when their parents just won a fucking big one.

it might be Ukraine or their associates

Gotta stop you right there. Ukraine orchestrating this attack is not in the realm of possibility.

I agree with your other points, but given Putin's track record with things like this I think it's absolutely relevant to mention the very real likelihood that this was orchestrated by Russia and will be used to escalate. Of course you are right that time will tell. But I for one appreciate the reminder of Putin's history in this regard and to be on guard for how this awful event and the tragic lost lives of innocent victims will be used by the Putin regime for his own nefarious purposes.

Exactly. Does anyone remember how our healthcare system was falling apart during and after COVID? One would think that it would be an election priority, and yet during the 2022 campaign it was all about language issues.

The sad thing is that it was extremely effective, and people like the poster I replied to are exactly the reason. Distract people with inflammatory divisive politics, and let the real problems fester and rot.

I do not care a bit if my doctor or my kids doctor speaks French. I just want to see a doctor.

Don't other jurisdictions like EU and USA already have passenger rights rules? Are the ones being pushed for in Canada any more stringent than theirs?

I doubt it. I think the passenger rights rules we are asking for in Canada are more or less in line with other parts of the world. So it begs the question - how are those pilots able to ensure safety without this supposed financial pressure?

Lol thanks, you got it. I'll wear the downvotes as a badge of shame, and a reminder to take the time to think before I shoot off a stupid comment.

Bah, who am I kidding. It's not the first time this happened and it won't be the last. I once got downvotes in a newiran subreddit because the OP compared the Iran govt to neanderthals - I felt that homo sapiens neanderthalensis is a bit misunderstood and didn't deserve to be insulted by the comparison.

Hey is this the part where we ask for proof?

Cuz all I've been hearing is that Canada's allegations are totally baseless until we provide proof. Isn't that how it works? Or is proof only required when India is being accused?

I understand, it sounds like you are concerned for India's international reputation in light of these allegations, and rightfully so. It's unfair from the perspective of a common citizen that your country gets flamed like this without proof, and insulting that people just say "well it's Canada, they aren't lying".

It's just that I trust my government and institutions and I believe them. Biden and Trudeau both spoke to Modi before this was released. Journalists in Canada were going to release this if the government didn't. I truly believe that handling it this way was bad for Canada too, so I don't see an incentive for Canada to lie which I do see for the Indian govt. Don't forget that other countries have their own relationships with India and will make their own decisions about supporting the allegations, not necessarily in light of the quality of proof but rather for pragmatic reasons. I think this whole affair will be painful for normal people in both countries, so in that sense you're absolutely right that diplomacy failed.

Still I'm curious: what do you think would be the reaction if the allegations turn out to be true?

Fair enough, I see where you're coming from and fully expect some proof. I do however have doubts that any proof will ever be conclusive enough to convince people and certainly not enough to get Modi to admit the truth if his govt is truly behind it. So what will providing proof accomplish anyway? Not providing proof might be a tactic to elicit lies that can be demonstrated as such through a trickle release of proof, enough to prove that the deniers are liars.

At the end of the day, Canada is a sovereign country and they are free to level a number of consequences against a foreign government if they so desire, including sanctions, visa restrictions, and so on. The only proof they need is for themselves, and to take action that will protect Canadians from foreign assassinations in the future. Canada really does not have to prove anything to India, especially if they do not believe the Indian govt is acting in good faith.